Hand on or Hands Off the Perineum? a Reflective Essay

Reflection is described as a way of reviewing experiences from practice so that it can be described and analysed and used to change future practice (Bulman and Schutz, 2004).

In this assignment I will be reflecting on a clinical skills formative assessment, to do this I will be using the driscoll’s model of reflection (2007) This model will be used in the essay to show that I have thought critically, relating the theory to practical session I will also be using this model because this is a recognized framework that will assist me in demonstrating how able I am to think and reflect critically on my assessment.

Reflection is a process of exploring and examining ourselves, our perspectives, attributes, experiences and actions / interactions. It helps us gain insight and see how to move forward (Nursing Times 2018). I believe reflection is particularly important when it comes to Nursing, as medicine is constantly changing/ improving and us ourselves medical professionals must adapt with the changes in medicine. I find that reflection is extremely useful in doing this as we can look over procedures or experiences that we have had, how that made us feel, whether we would change anything, then in the future we can see the changes that may have been made, whether this has changed our feelings and opinions on medical practice.

The aim of this research assignment is to demonstrate the ability to critically appraise two pieces of research evidence which relates to midwifery and use the evidence to make recommendations for change to improve the quality of care.

Reflection is an important tool for all health care practitioners. It can improve our skills and help us understand the choices we make while in practice. Williams (2001) states that “Reflective learning involves assessment and re-assessment of assumptions and critical reflection occurs whenever

I believe that reflective practice is essential to carrying out clinical skills effectively. It allows the nurse to reflect on their actions and perhaps, think what they will do if a similar scenario were to occur at a future stage. I reviewed Kolb's model of reflection. This

Reflecting on the situation that had taken place during my second placement working in the community. This will give me the perfect opportunity to develop and utilise my commutation skills in order to maintain the relationships with my patient. In this reflection, I am going to use Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle. This model is a recognised framework for my reflection. Gibbs (1988). Baird and Winter (2005,) give some reasons why reflection is require in the reflective practice. They state that a reflect is to generate the practice knowledge, assist an ability to adapt new situations, develop self-esteem and satisfaction as well as to value, develop and professionalizing practice. However, Siviter (2004)

Burns, S. Bulman, C. Palmer, A. (1997) Reflective Practice in Nursing - The growth of the professional practitioner. London: Blackwell Science.

Gustaffson and Fagerberg point out that reflective practice has relevance for clinical practice as by understanding the contents of nurses’ reflections, it is also possible to understand the advantages of reflective practice and how and when such measures should be used by the nurses for further professional development.

In recent years, reflection and reflective practice have become well-known term with in the health care arena. They are words that have been debated and discussed with in the health care setting (Tony and Sue 2006). Reflective practice is essential for nurses, as nurses are responsible for providing care to the best of their ability to patients and their families (NMC, 2008). Reid (1993) states reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice. Johns (1995) notes that reflection enables practitioners to assess, understand and learn through their experience. Reflective practice, therefore, offers nurses an opportunity to review their decisions and

This is the beginning of the mother’s involvement with the midwife. This is an opportunity for both parties to establish a personal relationship, partnership. This is where education exchange can occur, recognition of responsibilities, options and choices are determined which are supported and discussed with the mother and her supporters. (Pairman, 2010, pg. 431-432)

In correspondence with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Code of conduct (2012) I will reflect upon an episode of communication in which I feel I had an impact upon within a women’s postpartum care. I will reflect in the style of Gibbs (1988) as I feel it was more analytical for my specific communication episode as it considered feelings compared to the reflective cycle of Schὂn (1983) reflection in practice and reflection on practice.

For the purpose of this essay, I have selected Gibbs (1988) Reflective Learning Cycle to reflect on an aspect of individual professional practice, which requires development in preparation for my role as a Registered Nurse. Gibbs (1988) Model of Reflection provides a clear description of a situation, analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience, conclusion, and action plan to make sense of the experience to examine what you would do if the situation happens again.

According to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (2013) defines reflection as “an important activity in which people recapture their experience, think about it, mull over and evaluate it”. Therefore it can be argued that a reflection is a way of thinking about situations, analysing and learning from them. Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) advocates that nurses are to maintain confidentiality at all times. Therefore the patient will be named

The assignment critically discusses a reflective practice with regards to a clinical placement I undertook. In the following critical incident that I encountered I will utilize the Gibbs Reflective Model. Gibbs reflective model is fairly straightforward and encourage a clear description of the situation. Analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience, analysis to make sense of the experience, conclusion and action plan where other options are considered and reflection upon experience to examine what you would do if the situation arose again (Gibbs 1998). Unlike many other models (with the exception of Boud) Gibbs model takes in to account the realm of feelings and emotions, which played a part in a particular event. My rationale for